Confessions of a Beauty Blogger: Beauty Bets

If there’s one thing we can’t get enough of here at MDC, it’s beauty (le duh). Second only to trying out new trends ourselves and making product discoveries of our own, we love keeping up with what the rest of the beauty-obsessed community is buzzing about. Sometimes the talk surrounds a bold new look or a product that truly delivers, and sometimes it’s the person doing the talking that ends up generating all the buzz. When that person happens to be an established magazine editor and lifestyle writer, who turned a pet project into an über-successful blog and nabbed a Pinterest following of over 5.9 million along the way, we can understand why beauty enthusiasts are flocking to Beauty Bets. We caught up with the woman behind the blog, Elizabeth Dehn, and picked her brain on everything from product to pinspiration.
What started it all? How did Beauty Bets come to be?
I started the blog purely as a creative outlet. I was a lifestyle editor and didn’t have enough pages to cover all of the beauty I wanted to write about. I thought my friends and grandmother would read it. But it turned out that I wasn’t alone in my desire for candid product reviews, obsession with pretty packaging, or intrigue with weird and wacky wellness treatments. I’m so lucky to have such smart, curious readers who get it, and put up with me! They make Beauty Bets possible.
We’d never ask a beauty blogger to pick just one, but what are your three can’t-live-without beauty products?
Bobbi Brown Color Corrector changed my life. Dark undereye circles have nothing on this peach-toned number, especially when topped with Bobbi’s brightening concealer.
Bright blush. I won’t leave the house without something on my cheeks. Pink, peach, fuchsia . . . as long as it’s clear and bold, it practically eliminates the need for any other makeup—and takes 5-10 years off your face. (Ed. Note: We love bright blush too. Lancôme Blush in Love in Pommettes Damour and Giorgio Armani Blushing Fabric in Fuchsia are some of our favorites right now.)
Face oil. I like my skin as dewy as possible at all times, and nothing adds a healthy glow like pure plant oils. I’m partial to my Active Moisture Vitamin C Serum developed in conjunction with One Love Organics. It’s ultra-hydrating, brightening and natural.
As you know, beauty is a lot of trial and error. What was one of your biggest beauty mistakes?
Over-tweezing my eyebrows in college. I had Brook Shields brows growing up and I’d give anything to go back and have them professionally groomed instead. I’ve spent the last 15 years trying to grow them back out.
In all of your beauty adventures (and most likely mis-adventures) what’s been your most surprising discovery?
Hot rollers. Until recently, hadn’t used them since high school. Back then, they created frizzy fluff or bottom-heavy spiral. But today’s hot rollers make my fine hair big, bouncy and blowout-worthy. I like T3’s volumizing rollers.
Where do you get your beauty inspiration?
The red carpet. Everything is so dramatic that it makes for a great tutorial. It’s the first place I saw a red gown with a bubblegum pink lip and a canary yellow dress with navy eye shadow. I’m in heaven watching the Oscars.
Okay, nearly 6 million followers on Pinterest?! You have to tell us what’s going on there! What’s your secret?
I honestly have NO IDEA how that happened. But it could have something to do with being a magazine editor. I tend to curate images that tell a story, even if it’s not overt. People are drawn to a point of view. I like pretty things!
Other than pretty pouts and polished fingertips, what sorts of pinspiration are you always on the lookout for?
Food, y’all. Smoothies, juice cleanses, cocktails, healthy one-dish meals (quinoa for all!), roasted veggies . . . and interior design. We are always remodeling our 1930s cape cod, so I love collecting ideas. If I could live in Pinterest I would!
Photo: Courtesy of Elizabeth Dehn